“Oh, I do pussy with a side of dick from time to time, but I don’t chase women. They’re usually chasing me,” Cat said seriously.

“Aren’t you the confident one?”

“Just telling you what I know, Billy. But like I said, I didn’t come over here for that. I actually wanted to ask a favor.”

“A favor?” Billy looked at her. “What kind of favor?”

Cat dipped into her small purse and produced a Phillie and a bag of weed so bright that it was almost yellow. “I saw you blazing and figured you wouldn’t mind rolling this up for me, if I shared it with you? Sadly enough, I can’t roll very well.” She gave Billy a schoolgirl smile.

Billy popped the small plastic bag open and inhaled. The weed smelled like freshly cut grass, glazed in sour apple candy. She knew that whatever Cat was holding was some bomb shit. Seeing that Cat wasn’t trying to press her, she relaxed a little. After rolling the blunt, she and Cat sat off to the side getting higher than a “no money down” interest rate. It didn’t take long before they were laughing and talking like two old friends.

Cat was very open with Billy about how she had moved to New York with her mother and brother from Baltimore. It had always been her dream to become an actress, but she’d only found low-paying jobs and a high cost of living. Trying to stay above the poverty line, she took a part-time job as a dancer. After a while the money got so good that she found herself doing it full-time.

Cat paused for a minute as if she were deep in thought. “Billy … I was thinking. Well, I don’t know if you do the club thing, but, maybe you’d like to come by and check out the show?”

“I don’t know,” Billy said.

“Come on,” Cat urged. “It’s a straight club, so it’ll be a mixed crowd. The spot is pretty classy, too. Not one of those hole-in-the-wall joints. After my set, we can get drunk and admire some of that prime beef they have running around in there.”

Billy let out a giggle.

“I wanna laugh, too, what’s the joke?” a smooth voice called from behind Billy. She turned around and was surprised to see Marcus standing behind her.

“Damn, you’re nosy,” Cat said, playfully kissing him on the chin.

“You know I gotta keep you outta trouble,” Marcus responded, twirling one of Cat’s curls around his index finger. “Did I interrupt something?” he asked Billy.

“Oh, we were just smoking,” Billy said nervously. Marcus was giving her the same look that Cat had been a few minutes prior. Something about being in their combined presence made Billy feel like the main course at the Last Supper.